Categories: 2023 Postgame Recaps

Phillies lose ace battle, 2 position players in loss to Yankees

Aaron Nola allowed three runs over six innings in a loss to the Yankees. (John Adams/Icon Sportswire)

Final Score: Yankees 4, Phillies 2

NEW YORK — In a battle between two of the most durable and successful starting pitchers in baseball over the last five years, Gerrit Cole came out on top.

The New York Yankees edged the Phillies 4-2 to take two out of three in the series. The Phillies will head home to Philadelphia Wednesday night with an unsightly 1-5 record to start the season.

“We played poorly at the start, but I think the last couple of games, we’re playing the way we know how to play,” Rob Thomson said when asked about the roadtrip. “We just gotta keep going and it’s going to be good to get home in front of our fans.”

The Yankee ace struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings pitched. He attacked Phillies hitters predominantly with fastballs and was consistently hitting the corners.

His brilliant outing ended on a bizarre ball four pitch clock violation. Cole and the catcher Jose Trevino were on the same page up until the very last “pitch.” The timer hit zero before the two could decide what to throw and Nick Castellanos was granted first base.

The walk gave the Phillies a chance for a comeback. Jonathan Loáisiga came in to pitch for the Yankees and two pitches later, the bases were loaded on a Bryson Stott single and Alec Bohm hit by pitch. The No. 8 hitter Jake Cave took the next pitch and hit a fly ball to left, scoring Castellanos from third on a sacrifice fly.

Josh Harrison came in to pinch hit for Cristian Pache, the No. 9 hitter starting in place of Brandon Marsh, who was scratched from the lineup with an ankle sprain. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, playing third for the injured Josh Donaldson, made a nice play on the ball to get the final out.

Gleyber Torres gave the Yankees the early lead in the first on a broken bat single to left field, scoring Aaron Judge from second. The 2022 AL MVP reached on a single and stole second base.

Torres added a second Yankee run on an 0-2 base hit up the middle. Trevino hit a two-run home run off struggling reliever Gregory Soto to score another pair of runs for New York in the bottom of the seventh.

The biggest concern right now lies with the two position players the Phillies lost to injuries on Wednesday. Marsh was scratched from the lineup and listed as day-to-day.

Darick Hall exited the game with a left thumb sprain after getting tagged out at second on a head-first slide trying to stretch a single into a double. He initially remained in the game, but was replaced by Edmundo Sosa. Bohm moved over to first. Sosa eventually moved to center field after Harrison pinch hit for Pache in the seventh.

Thomson said after the game that Marsh injured his ankle on the DJ LeMahieu home run in the bottom of the ninth of Tuesday’s game. Both Marsh and Hall will be reevaluated on Thursday.

Shibe Vintage Sports Notes

Nola used a stop watch in his bullpen sessions in between starts to get more comfortable with the pitch timer. “What’s going to get us used to the pitch clock is getting out there over and over again in a game situation. Learning how to slow it down, learning how to start your motion. … You can do it in the bullpen all you want, but you gotta be in the game situations,” Nola said after the game.
Judge went 2-for-10 against Phillies pitching during the series.

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